


Awkward conversations with your daughter's maybe-boyfriend

by Nary



Category: Ashland Horror
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Boyfriends, Burritos, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Meeting the Parents, Teenagers, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-15 03:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5769028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nary/pseuds/Nary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was dozing on the couch in front of some afternoon talk show that didn't address what to do when your teenager was getting involved with dangerous supernatural matters, when the doorbell rang.  He got up, not wanting Rachel to interrupt her writing unnecessarily, and went to answer it.  Standing outside was a skinny boy in skinny jeans with dyed black hair and a ring through his lower lip.  He was carrying a bag from Milagros and looked nervous.  "Hey, is Lil home?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Awkward conversations with your daughter's maybe-boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Measured_Words](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Measured_Words/gifts).



Lil was in bed with what her father would probably have assumed was the flu, if Tim Winters hadn't filled him in on what his daughter and her friends had been up to. A magic ritual that had drained her life-force was even more worrying, even if he'd said she would recover from it soon. Lil had just grumbled something incoherent at him when he'd tried to ask her about it, and Addie hadn't been much more informative, just saying that things had gone a bit "cray cray" but that they would sort it out. Somehow that didn't set Nathan's mind at ease.

Addie left for school the next morning, while Lil stayed in bed. Nathan brought her some orange juice and a bagel, but she only took a sip and then laid back down again, complaining that chewing hurt her head. Rachel offered to keep an eye on her, but Nathan knew he wouldn't get anything useful done at work when he was this distracted and concerned, so he called in sick himself. 

He was dozing on the couch in front of some afternoon talk show that didn't address what to do when your teenager was getting involved with dangerous supernatural matters, when the doorbell rang. He got up, not wanting Rachel to interrupt her writing unnecessarily, and went to answer it. Standing outside was a skinny boy in skinny jeans with dyed black hair and a ring through his lower lip. He was carrying a bag from Milagros and looked nervous. "Hey, is Lil home?"

Nathan had met most of Lil's friends, and anyway they ought to be in school right now, so he determined by process of elimination that this must be the elusive Den. "She's resting," he said, trying to look suitably stern and paternal.

"She still feeling sick?" the boy asked. "If she's up to eating, I brought some burritos."

Wondering if Den had been there yesterday when Lil had done the ritual that had laid her low, or if he'd found out she wasn't well some other way, Nathan nodded. "She hasn't got much appetite, but, ah, that's very thoughtful." His own stomach was reminding him that he hadn't eaten lunch. "Just out of curiosity, how many burritos?"

"Well, I got four," he replied. "Just in case she was really hungry..." He shuffled uncomfortably on the doorstep, and Nathan sighed.

"Come on in," he told Den. "I can see if she's feeling up to lunch. But if not, fair warning, I'm totally going to eat one of those burritos."

Leaving Den in the entryway, he went upstairs to Lil's room and knocked gently. "Sweetie, your friend Den is here. He brought some lunch if you want to come down and eat."

Lil gave a sort of muffled groan. "I'm not coming out like this. I look like death." 

He tried not to read too much into that, but he couldn't help suspecting that if it had been one of her usual group of friends, she wouldn't have cared about how she looked, and would have asked them to come up and hang out with her regardless. "Okay, I'll put a burrito aside for you in case you want it later."

There was a pause, as Lil perhaps considered this. "Tell him thanks, and I'll text him later," she finally said grudgingly. "I'm going back to sleep."

Nathan returned to Den, who was waiting awkwardly by the door. "She's still not feeling great, but she said thanks." He gestured in the general direction of the kitchen. "But if you still want to eat lunch, come on and sit down."

"Ah, okay," Den said warily. "Sure, sounds good."

They headed into the kitchen, and after a bit of discussion about what kinds of burritos there were, and what toppings they had, they each selected one and settled in to eat in uneasy - if delicious - silence. Nathan found himself scrutinizing the teenager, vividly remembering how it had felt being on the other side of this dynamic. "So, how old are you?"

Den looked like an emo deer caught in headlights. "Eighteen," he said, as if daring Nathan to tell him he was too old to be hanging around with Lil.

"And you go to Southern Oregon University?" Lil had already told him all of this, of course, but he felt like he ought to ask anyway - to make small talk, or to show this kid that he was Lil's dad and he was looking out for her.

"Yeah," Den said. "I'm going for a BFA in Theater."

Of course he was. "You grew up around here?"

Den nodded. "My parents run the funeral home."

Nathan felt an unexpected pang of gothy nostalgia - or maybe envy. There had been a time in his life when being able to say that he grew up in a funeral home would have been a great pick-up line. "Are you still living at home while you go to school?" he asked casually. 

"For now," Den said a bit defensively. "It's cheaper, and it's close to campus."

"Makes sense," Nathan agreed cheerfully. It also meant that Den didn't have an apartment of his own to take Lil back to. Not that that was necessarily a guarantee they wouldn't get up to things anyway - he also remembered being remarkably resourceful at finding privacy when he was a teenager. And he'd already told Lil, even before this boy was in the picture, that if she was going to have sex, he'd rather she do it at home where it was safe and necessary supplies were on hand. She had rolled her eyes at that, but he thought she would probably make smart choices when the occasion arose. Smarter than he and Andrea had, at least.

"How did you and Lil meet?" he asked, trying not to worry unreasonably.

"Ah, well, we worked on that show together last fall," Den said. "After that, I guess we just ran into each other a few more times, and started texting..." He shrugged. "I thought she was pretty interesting."

Well, 'interesting' was probably a better basis for developing a relationship than 'hot' - although it would be a pretty brave or stupid teenage boy who would tell his potential girlfriend's father that, Nathan assumed. He forced himself not to think about the horror stories that were always in the news about teenagers sexting and sending naked pictures to each other that wound up spread all over the internet. Then again, compared to his daughter getting involved with magical rituals and supernatural monsters, some embarrassing texts or leaked photos seemed practically manageable.

"It was nice to meet you," he said as Den was getting ready to leave. The kid had even cleaned up the trash from lunch, so he was reasonably civilized, it seemed. Nathan wasn't one to give a "hurt my daughter and I'll break your kneecaps" speech - for one thing, having been on the other side of them, he knew they didn't actually work. Besides, as much as he wanted to protect Lil, there were some things he knew it would be impossible or even foolish to shelter her from - like the risks that came with trusting people enough to build a relationship with them. So if she liked this boy, Nathan was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he would behave like a decent human being. "I imagine I'll see you around."

Den shrugged. "Assuming Lil doesn't tell me to get lost, yeah." He said it with a sort of modestly hopeful tone that Nathan approved of.

"Well, she did say she'd text you when she wakes up," said Nathan with a slight smile. "And for the record, if you want to bring burritos next time, I like mine with jalapenos."

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [naryrising](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/naryrising) if you want to ask questions, make requests, or chat!


End file.
